broke out into the following reflexion: Alas! What an infignificant creature am I in this prodigious ocean of waters; my existence is of no concern to the univerfe, I am reduced to a kind of nothing, and am lefs than the leaft of the works of God.' It fo happened that an Oifter which lay in the neighbourhood of this drop, chanced to gape and swallow it up in the midft of this its humble Soliloquy. The Drop, fays the fable, lay a great while hardening in the fhell, 'till by degrees it was ripened into a pearl, which falling into the hands of a Diver, after a long feries of adventures, is at present that famous pearl which is fixed on the top of the Perfian diadem. L Si fractus illabatur orbis Hor. MAN, confidered in himself, is a ve Μ ry helpless and a very wretched Being. He is fubject every moment to the greatest calamities and misfortunes. He is befet with dangers on all fides, and may become unhappy by numberless ca fualties, fualties, which he could not foresee, nor have prevented, had he foreseen them. It is our comfort, while we are obnoxious to fo many accidents, that we are under the care of one who directs contingencies, and has in his hands the management of every thing that is capable of annoying or offending us; who knows the affiftance we ftand in need of, and is always ready to bestow it on those who ask it of him. The natural homage, which fuch a creature bears to fo infinitely wife and good a Being, is a firm reliance on him for the bleffings and conveniencies of life, and an habitual truft in him for deliverance out of all fuch dangers and difficulties as may befal us. The Man, who always lives in this difpofition of mind, has not the fame dark and melancholy views of human nature, as he who confiders himself abftractedly from this relation to the Supreme Being. At the fame time that he reflects upon his own weakness and imperfection, he comforts himself with the contemplation of thofe divine attributes, which are employed for his fafety and his welfare. He finds his want of fore fight made up by the Omnifcience of him who is his fupport. He is not fenfible of his own want of ftrength, when he knows that his helper is Almighty. In fhort, the person who has a firm trust on the Supreme Being is Powerful in his Power, Wife by his Wifdom, Happy by bis Happiness. He reaps the benefit of every Divine Attribute, and lofes his own infufficiency in the fulness of infinite perfection. To make our lives more eafy to us, we are commanded to put our truft in him, who is thus able to relieve and fuccour us; the Divine Goodness having made fuch a reliance a duty, notwithstanding we fhould have been miferable had it been forbidden us. Among feveral motives, which might be made ufe of to recommend this duty to us, I fhall only take notice of thofe that follow. The first and ftrongeft is, that we are promised, he will not fail those who put their trust in him. But without confidering the fupernatural bleffing which accompanies this duty, we may obferve that it has a natural tendency to its own reward, or in other other words, that this firm trust and confidence in the great difpofer of all things, contributes very much to the getting clear of any affliction, or to the bearing it manfully. A perfon who believes he has his fuccour at hand, and that he acts in fight of his friend, often exerts himfelf beyond his abilities, and does wonders that are not to be matched by one who is not animated with fuch a confidence of fuccefs. I could produce inftances from hiftory, of Generals, who out of a belief that they were under the protection of fome invisible afsistant, did not only encourage their Soldiers to do their utmost, but have acted themselves beyond what they would have done, had they not been infpired by fuch a belief. I might in the fame manner fhew how fuch a truft in the affiftance of an Almighty Being, naturally produces patience, hope, chearfulness, and all other difpofitions of mind that alleviate those calamities which we are not able to re move. The practice of this virtue administers great comfort to the mind of man in times of poverty and affliction, but most of all in the hour of death. When the foul foul is hovering in the laft moments of its feparation, when it is just entering on another ftate of Exiftence, to converse with fcenes, and objects, and companions that are altogether new, what can fupport her under fuch tremblings of thought, fuch fear, such anxiety, fuch apprehenfions, but the cafting of all her cares upon him who firft gave her Being, who has conducted her through one stage of it, and will be always with her to guide and comfort her in her progrefs through eternity? David has very beautifully reprefented this steady reliance on God Almighty in his twenty third Pfalm, which is a kind of Paftoral hymn, and filled with those allufions which are usual in that kind of writing. As the poetry is very exquifite, I fhall prefent my reader with the following Tranflation of it. 1. The Lord my pafture shall prepare, II. When |